ICC President Clarifies: Putin Must Be Arrested If He Appears in 123 Countries

(Patria) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants yesterday for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.

Shortly after this announcement by the ICC, Voice of America journalist Misha Komodovsky asked the President of the Court, Piotr Hofmanski, what this means for Putin.

"According to the statute of the ICC, whose members are 123 countries, the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of any member state.

Given that Ukraine accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC in 2014 and again in 2015, this jurisdiction applies to all crimes committed by anyone on the territory of Ukraine, regardless of the nationality of the alleged perpetrators.

The Court has been referred this situation in Ukraine by 43 states, which also confirms that the jurisdiction has formally commenced," it was stated.

When asked if this also means the possibility of arresting the accused in a third country, President Hofmanski says that it is in fact a legal obligation of the country that recognizes the Court.

"All member states must fully cooperate with the Court, including arrests.

In practical terms, this means that if a suspect travels to the territory of a member state, that country has a legal obligation to arrest the person and hand them over to the Court," Hofmanski explained.

The states that have signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are 123 countries. Of these, 33 are African states, 19 are from the Asia-Pacific region, 18 are from Eastern Europe, 28 are from Latin American and Caribbean states, and 25 are from Western European and other states.

Let us recall, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for the abduction of children from occupied Ukrainian territory.